Recipes for the Table and for Life

Shrimp and Rice Casserole

My “Queen of Banana Bread” friend sent me this recipe in August and I stuffed it into my recipe file to use the next time I noticed that shrimp were on sale. Well, this is the week (at least at Giant Grocery Stores). Now, I have to preface this by saying the actual recipe calls for baking the casserole with raw rice and raw shrimp….two things of which I am not fond. So I ended up making this much like the recipe my MIL wrote in the cookbook she gave us for our wedding (Shrimp New Orleans….which is fairly similar to this just messes up more pots and pans and has more of a kick to it.) This way I got the entire thing prepped before my kids walked through the door and then later I simply put it in the oven. Then when I was making my second trip back to the school in the 4:00 hour…it didn’t matter that I wasn’t there to stir it like the original recipe required. I like recipes that I can prep ahead (if you aren’t going to be home during the day you can prep this one the night before) and then stick in the oven and forget about until the timer goes off!

Both of my girls ate this one so that was good….they didn’t eat as much as I did but that is another story!

Shrimp and Rice Casserole

Cook according to package instructions.

1 1/2 cups rice

Peel and devein

1 1/2 lbs raw shrimp

Boil water in large soup pot in order to cook the shrimp.

Once the water is boiling place the peeled and deveined shrimp in the boiling water and allow them to cook for about 3-5 minutes….they will turn a nice pink. (My cat usually starts to meow about the time they are cooked through!)

In a large bowl combine:

cooked rice

cooked shrimp

cream of celery soup (10.75 oz can)

cream of chicken soup (10.75 oz can)

1 can of Rotel (I noticed that Pace Brand now has their own version of this wonderful diced tomatoes and green chilies combination)

1 tsp salt

1 yellow onion, diced

1 red bell pepper, diced

1/2 tsp pepper

Stir it well to combine.

Now if you plan to bake this later, cover the bowl and store in the refrigerator until you are ready to cook.

Baking the dish:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

In a large casserole dish melt

4 Tbsp butter

Once the butter is melted, pour the shrimp and rice mixture over the melted butter.

Cover the dish with foil and bake for 30 minutes.

I had chilled my casserole and it needed a bit longer to warm through so after 30 minutes I removed the foil, stirred it around a bit and cooked it for 10 more minutes.